Hypothermia and exposure contributed to the death of the 5-year-old Coos County boy whose body was found 2 miles from home last month, the Coos County district attorney said Wednesday.
Joshua James McCoy went missing Nov. 9. Joshua’s mother, Angela German, 43, told authorities she woke up from a nap she had taken with her son only to discover he was gone. The boy had autism, didn’t talk much and did not like to wear clothes, she said. Feeling uncomfortable in clothing is a common response for people with autism.
Three days later, on Nov. 12, the boy’s naked body was found down the road from his home on Stage Road in the unincorporated Coos County community of Hauser.
District Attorney Paul Frasier told The Oregonian/OregonLive on Wednesday that while the case remains under investigation, he does “not anticipate any arrests will be made in the near future.”
He said authorities are awaiting the results of toxicology tests and that the autopsy showed hypothermia was a “contributing cause of death.”
The child’s body was found partially under a bush about 20 feet from the road, according to a probable cause affidavit written by Coos County Sheriff’s Deputy BradLee Davis in support of a search warrant of German’s property.
Investigators saw no scratches, bruises or marks on his body. A deputy medical examiner examined Joshua’s body at the scene and found no signs of trauma, the deputy wrote.
The affidavit spells out the early hours of the investigation — and German’s involvement with child welfare authorities in two states.
Oregon child welfare authorities had recently obtained a “pick up order” for the boy that had been signed by Coos County Circuit Judge Matthew Muenchrath, the court filing states, though it does not provide a date when the order was signed.
German had been on the radar of the Oregon Department of Human Services for at least six months when the child disappeared.
Child welfare workers opened a case on the family in May due to allegations of “neglect and mistreatment towards Joshua,” the affidavit says.
State workers documented “alcohol use, filthy home with food on the floor and human feces in the home,” according to the affidavit.
The court filing says the Department of Human Services had a record of another welfare check and a second referral related to German’s care of her son in July.
German’s involvement with Oregon child welfare authorities contributed to her decision to leave for Utah, where child welfare officials also opened their own investigation, according to the affidavit.
Jake Sunderland, a spokesperson for the Oregon Department of Human Services, said in email to The Oregonian/OregonLive on Wednesday that “our hearts go out to the family, community and others who are impacted by this heartbreaking loss.”
He said laws prohibit the release of information on such cases, but that the agency plans a detailed review of the death by a critical incident response team, which investigates child deaths when the victim, their siblings or other children living in the household have had previous interactions with child welfare authorities within 12 months of the death. The agency will release its findings to the public.
A spokesperson for the Division of Child and Family Services at the Utah Department of Health & Human Services declined to comment on its investigation. “The loss of any child impacts and devastates us,” said Josh Loftin, the spokesperson. “It is tragic for the family and the community. That said, we take our standards of confidentiality and supporting the legal process very seriously and regret that we cannot provide more detail at this time.”
When her son disappeared that afternoon, German did not call police, the affidavit states.
It was her friend in Utah who got a call from German about the disappearance who reported the child missing, the deputy wrote. The woman told police German didn’t call authorities “because she has had bad experience with law enforcement in the past.”
Investigators spoke with German’s friend in Utah, who said German slept a lot and neglected her son.
German, a licensed nurse, could not be reached for comment Wednesday. Her license remains active and she has no record of discipline, according to the Oregon Board of Nursing.
A sergeant interviewed German, who said she and Joshua had been living in Utah with her friend and that she had been depressed and experiencing panic attacks. She told authorities she sought psychiatric treatment and was prescribed barbiturates and ketamine.
She told investigators that she went to sleep with her son at 1:30 p.m. and woke up about 90 minutes later because “ducks were inside the house.” She realized then that her son was missing.
According to the affidavit, German changed her account of when she fell asleep, telling authorities that she slept from about 10:30 a.m. until about 1 p.m.
“Angela said Joshua’s favorite things to do is use his Samsung cell phone or tablets to make videos of himself or take photographs of random objects,” the affidavit states.
Investigators were able to arrange “an emergency ping” by the carrier, which showed the phone within about a mile-and-a-half radius of the home, according to the affidavit.
Joshua’s phone was 10 feet from his body when he was found.
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